Can any one send me the Tamil version of "Thandai Tai Irundhaal". Tamil version will make me understand the exact words before understanding the story behind that. Actually, I don't get the story for the following:

I remember the authorship of this song was in question some time ago. Some contend it is by ponniah piLLai (the descendent of the Tanjore Quartet) and others, GKB. Nonetheless, it is a nice composition. I think grsastrigals interpretation of the background story seems corect as the inferences to the story seem to be clear.

If you listen to NCV sing a version of this song, the villAl oruvan aDikka is embellished as gAnDIvam ennum villAl oruvan aDikka - once when arjun (the owner of gANDIv) was in meditation doing penance to please SivA, he is disturbed by a wild boar. Arjun tries to kill it, when a hunter and his wife appear on the scene and demand that he not kill the boar, because they have chased it all day long, and the shikAr is rightfully theirs. Arjun doesn't pay heed to this and kills the boar anyway. This leads to a fight with the hunter, during the course of which, arjun is amazed to see that his 'powerful' arrows have no effect on the hunter, and finally, he tries to beat him with his bow. When everything fails and he wonders who this amazing hunter is, the hunter and his wife reveal themselves as SivA and pArvatI.

grsastrigal:kallAl oruvan aDikka ---> refers to sAkkiya nAyanAr (originally a buddhist) who converted to shaivism and used to worship Lord Shiva by throwing stones at the lingam every time he passed a shrine. For such unique form of worship he was honored.

kmrasika:The authorship of "tandai tAY..." song is ascribed to GKB by one Dr. Pasupati of Toronto based on a book published by Annamalai University. Even Lakshman thought it was by Ponnaiah Pillai until recently. There is an extra caraNam in the song where the mudra bAlakrishNan is found which indicates it is by GKB.

Mahakavi- You are like Somu. Never failed to amuse me. Please help me with the rest.

Second SaraNam

1) Koosamal- I forgot the story. One Temple in which we can see the Scar on Lingam because of this... Is this the same story..2) Koottathil- Must be Sundarar.3) Veesi Madurai MaRan- Pittukku maN sumandha Kadhai..

The next SaraNam is very interesting

1) Seelamilladhoru- (Lady spitting on Shiva was unheard.....what is this story)2) Ganga...on the Head..

In the Anupalavi- the first word - "Andhamil". what does it mean ?

Last edited by grsastrigal on 14 Jul 2007, 01:01, edited 1 time in total.

grsastrigal wrote:Mahakavi- You are like Somu. Never failed to amuse me. Please help me with the rest.

Second SaraNam

1) Koosamal- I forgot the story. One Temple in which we can see the Scar on Lingam because of this... Is this the same story..2) Koottathil- Must be Sundarar.3) Veesi Madurai MaRan- Pittukku maN sumandha Kadhai..

The next SaraNam is very interesting

1) Seelamilladhoru- (Lady spitting on Shiva was unheard.....what is this story)2) Ganga...on the Head..

In the Anupalavi- the first word - "Andhamil". what does it mean ?

grsastrigal:Read the contents of the following URL for an account on eRipatta nAyanAr and pugazh cOzha nAyanAr. eRipattar used a battle axe (kai kODAli) to destroy anything/anybody which/who makes any attempts to harm the servitors of Lord Shiva.http://www.shaivam.org/naeripat.html

I am not sure if this episode has any connection with the scar on the lingam.

When the Lord, in the guise of an old brahmin, proclaimed Sundarar to be his slave and stopped his wedding, Sundarar abused him as "pittA" (mad man). Later on when Sundarar followed him as his slave he asked the Lord what shall he start with in singing his praise. the Lord told him to start with the word of abuse he used, "pittA". That was the first song Sundarar sang, "pittA piRai sUDi perumAnE aruLALA"

The king Madurai mARan caned Him for goofing off on the job of helping dam the river vaigai when it was in spate.

As for the lady who spit on the lingam, it was the wife of a servitor of the Lord called nIlanakkar. She followed her husband wherever he went to do the pUjai. One time a spider fell on the lingam. She was gripped with fear (for the harm it may do to the lingam!) and blew on the spider to make it go away. The husband thought she was defiling the Lord by spitting on the lingam. He discarded her for such a sacriligious act. The Lord appeared in his dreams that night and showed the blisters all over His body except on the spot where the wife blew. I will let you imagine what happened next.....

(The aNDa migunda that I used before is not valid.)

Finally, am I "amusing" you grs or "informing " you?

Last edited by mahakavi on 14 Jul 2007, 18:05, edited 1 time in total.

The following is the shortened version of the song located in karnaTik.comHere the anupallavi has "anda migunda". Notice the other change "perumaiyuDan". Lakshman may clarify the difference between this and the other version. Perhaps he contributed both versions. The authorship for this song at this site is given as ponnaiAh piLLaihttp://www.geocities.com/promiserani2/c1161.html

The lyrics at Karnatik.com is from the song that NCV made famous. Yes, I did believe for a long time that the song was by Sangita kalanidhi Ponniah Pillai. The editor of Sruti magazine confirmed this at that time. Later on I came across the complete song, through my good friend Dr.S.Pasupathy, in one of the volumes of Tamizh Isai Padalgal. I am sure that this version is the correct one.

Thanks, Lakshman. Transcribing from a recorded version entails some errors not to speak of the person rendering it with less than perfect fidelity. You may replace the new version with the one in karnATik.com so that those who scan that site may also benefit. Back in 2004 that was the version I followed.

First time, you listen to that, it is sarcastic and second time, knowing the meaning, we can see the beauty of this song and GKB (or PPs) "kavithvam". Bhakthi through sarcastic lyrics are rarely found.

I remember a similar song in "SIVAKAVI" where MKT, in order to show his unquestionable Bhakthi on Shiva, he degrades "Murugan". This song is in chencurutti. His briga is amazing.